Speaking of "Dark Brandon", (an ostensibly bad guy about to to bad things) here is an article from the Wall Street Journal capturing the now ancient, at 81, George Will and his current perspectives on government. Compare Will's wild ravings to Dr. Richardson's perspective on government.
Mr. Will says, “that a market-based capitalist society of spontaneous order—I’m using Hayekian language—is good for the soul. People used to say ‘An armed society is a polite society’—if everyone had a Colt on their hip or a dagger on their belt, they’d be polite to each other. Well I think a commercial society is a polite society.”
Hayekian language? What? If we ALL just treat each other as if we (each) are a deadly threat to (each other) everything will be great??? Now, that is actually the most cogent statement in a wandering article with more ravings from what sounds like a madman.
I read the article twice. The first time I thought the incoherent, outrageously nutty nature of the article might be my own reading depth. So, I read it again carefully.
George Will, never of sound mind, and never a very good writer, but, as a white man able to stay gainfully employed at the Washington Post most likely because he had a rich Dad with some stroke, is positively off the rails as an old man.
To quote Mary Engelbreit, "May we all have the confidence of a mediocre white man." Or, to paraphrase the Hippies, Arming for civility is like f***ing for virginity.
According to the preface of my current favorite cookbook, The Vegan Chinese Kitchen by Hannah Che, the earliest Chinese "restaurants" were Buddhist monastery kitchens who fed travelers. As Buddhists, they did not believe in killing, and preferred not to have knives at table. From that belief, came the practise of cutting food before cooking it, so that eaters need only chopsticks (replaceable by forks in some countries) and spoons.
One of the things I love about being on this forum is what you can learn about different cultures from the many backgrounds here. While I worked in a lot of different countries before retirement I never made it to India. Namaste, was a new word to me, even if I had seen the gesture. Thanks.
Dave Smucker - "Namaste, was a new word to me, even if I had seen the gesture."
It's often how you know yoga class is over: The teacher faces the class with their hands together in a bow and says, "Namaste." Maybe you bow and say it back.
But that's not the only place you'll encounter "namaste." In the years since yoga became commercially popular in the United States, the word has taken on a life of its own. Namaste has found its way onto T-shirts, welcome mats, mugs, socks, pencil cases, and tote bags.
The first part of namaste comes from "namaha," a Sanskrit verb that originally meant "to bend." Deshpande says, "Bending is a sign of submission to authority or showing some respect to some superior entity." Over time, "namaha" went from meaning "to bend" to meaning "salutations" or "greetings."
The "te" in namaste means "to you," Deshpande says. So all together, namaste literally means "greetings to you." In the Vedas, namaste mostly occurs as a salutation to a divinity.
But the use and meaning have evolved. Today, among Hindi speakers throughout the world, namaste is a simple greeting to say hello.
A lot of words we use today have religious roots, but just like "adios," "inshallah" or "goodbye" (an abbreviation of "God be with ye"), it doesn't have to be that deep.
When it comes to yoga, it's a different story. The commercial yoga industry in the United States often uses "namaste" in a way that is almost completely divorced from its use in Hindi. Some yoga websites claim that namaste is "𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴" or "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶."
Having spent time in India and attending daily “services” at a Temple as well as one of my best friends (someone I considered my sister and to her I was her brother), had a PHD and was an American author. Her sole purpose in life was to make Hinduism better understood in the west (aka the USA). She was devoutly Hindu.
Some of your text is correct some not. Namaste to Hindus does speak to the spiritual soul of each of us, speaks to that “light” in each of us. While it gets used as a gesture essentially saying hello (much like Jai Sia Ram), it is not simply meant as a gesture of “greetings / hello” to Hindus. It is meant to acknowledge the oneness of all. As another friend stated regarding it’s meaning, “I honor that place in you, where when you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us”.
You wrote: “In the Vedas, namaste mostly occurs as a salutation to a divinity.” No, not to “a divinity/ a god”. It is a salutation to the divinity in each of us, to the divine nature of all.
Like a voice from the past, your note made a memory pop into my mind of reading that book long, long ago. It made me think. Perhaps it is time to re-read again, and see where it takes me now, some 60+ years later. Thanks for the reminder.
Sharon CORRECTION ‘’I know a lot of young men that are currently off the rails and theY are around George Will’s age.” Please be cordial to us ‘vintage males.’
I am quite fond of a number of vintage males. Though there are a few who get on my nerves (not really connected with the present and think that "the old way of doing things was better"). On the other hand, I see a certain number of mid-life men who are off the rails, and some women who seem to think that cozying up to them somehow validates them as women. That makes me feel ill. What gives me hope is knowing that those people trying to recreate our society in the image of their small minds have to work very very hard to be heard, and fall flat almost every time, because there are more of us than them. Eventually they will realize that. I sure hope it is during my lifetime, because I don't want to miss it.
Annie, I am happy too that the very conservative complain it's hard to get their message out. My own brother,78, is one of them. Last night he sent me a PragerU video decrying this very thing. Secretly, I smiled and laughed and had a moment of hope that their difficulties would continue. But I wrote back (after not watching to the video) that people on both sides of the aisle seem to be having trouble making their message heard. It's no use entering into discussion on political issues with him any longer but I wish him well.
I live in solidarity with you on Colorado's Western Slope! There's a few of us - in fact, the county I live in has gone more Independent/Democrat - so, there is hope! Not so much for Mesa and Montrose counties unfortunately.
There was a time...long ago, so long ago. When most Americans realized that their government was doing all that it could to protect them. Even when their President was of a different party or simply a lunatic. Taking pot shots at the folks who volunteered to protect us is pathetic.
Our military and our intelligence community work 24/7 and often risk their lives for us. What do we do? We watch our big TVs getting numbed by MSM hysterically repeating someone's interpretation of someone's speculation about something they really know little about. We stare and rant at our phones, doom scrolling while we sip our lattes.
A surveillance balloon drifted over our country. Neutralizing its electronics and communication abilities would be within the abilities of many teenage hackers. So it was a terrific harmless side show. But it was the size of two or three buses. So the mature leadership of our country determined the safest place to take it down. And yet, there must be something there to criticize, right?
The "balloon gate" episode is just another way for the GQP traitors to distract Americans from their attempted coup and now their attempt at destroying the financial credibility of their own country.
I think this is a sign of their desperation. Now back to Jill and Joe's dogs, Hunter's laptop and that basement in the pizza parlor.
Have to share this on Face Book and condense it a bit to get on Twitter. GREAT response to the current bunch of "R"s in the House - all of whom need a sound spanking and then public rejection.
OH! I thought you were addressing me! and I was going to correct you about the "e" at the end of Chere. I stand corrected, but share your enthusiasm for Snarky HCR. Hmmm... it's an issue. How to encourage more Snark without sacrificing the very quality of dignified restraint that we have come to know and love. Hmmm... Cher Douglas, here. (sans "e")
Yeah, good one! Heather sets up the entire circus of absurdity and turns to us and says, "Live! Snarky Saturday Night!" Good one! Hopefully, when the craziness is finally crushed and HCR returns to being a college history professor she can host Snarky Saturday Night and take on the next foolishness, just not the foolishness of our current batch of fools. Keep it fresh, as long as HCR saves the world soon enough to get through this batch!
With this bunch if clowns we gave running the House of Representatives now, will this foolishness ever stop? I don’t think so. They have yet to put a decent Bill on the floor for a vote. They are still arguing and jockeying on who’s going to serve on what committee, they have no clue what to do with Santos (or whatever his name is), and MTG hadn’t completed barking her orders to McFarty keeping him totally confused, and lost.
You are well on your way to number one with the Marjorie song. Ignorable…Oh so unadorable. I want to take you in my arms up to the cliff side. Because you’re my Ignorable so unadorable. Oops! Oh oh.
If the moonlight had of been brighter….Maybe you wouldn’t have slipped … Over that cliff… Oh baby you said that you could fly…MyLittle Magapie…Just when I thought you were falling for me… you fell into the sea… our time together was so ignorable so unadorable altogether deplorable.
Pat, these posts have made my day. Since I live in Georgia, although thankfully not in MTG's district, I would love to see "Little Magpie" flapping her wings, to no avail, ignorable and unadorable creature that she is.
I sought refuge in Marietta rather than overnight in Atlanta. Georgia is the southern crossroads of trucking where all roads lead to Atlanta. There are very fine people there.
I moved here from New England over 50 years ago. Obviously, I like it. There has been a huge influx of people moving here over the years, and I'm hopeful that eventually the MTGs here will become irrelevant.
No Janet, I am an old man making snowshoes so he can climb up on the continental divide, sleep in a snow drift, write foolish songs, and have a moment.
I live in MTG's district, we are a rapidly growing exurb of metro Atlanta. Many businesses are locating out here and subdivisions and schools are popping up everywhere changing our area from pastoral to suburban. The professionals moving this way tend to be educated and liberal..things will change eventually.
I used to live in Rome and taught at one of the colleges there, which is in MTG's district. It was the first place I came to after living in Europe for nearly 20 years. To come from one of the most liberal societies, The Netherlands, to one that was SO conservative was quite the culture shock. Though the people I was around were all of a like mind politically and socially, nevertheless one could not escape that we were surrounded on all sides by people with a decidedly different view of the world. You learn quickly how to manage and get along with people of all stripes. For me it was an enormous adjustment as I returned to the US feeling very much like a foreigner.
The energy of Atlanta's northward spread had for years been its strongest going in a north and northeast direction for about 50 miles, following what is called the "I-85 corridor". For years in the '90s, the northern part of Gwinnett county and the southern part of my home county (Hall) were cited as THE fastest growing areas in the entire country. (When we moved here in 1956, the county had like 35,000 people. It's now over 220,000.) The northwestern expansion has been more recent, especially apparent in the past 20 years or so, and had largely left Rome untouched, but that has now changed. A county to the south of Rome's Floyd county, Cobb, for years in the '70s and '80s had been pretty solidly red--it was the area that produced Newt Gingrich. It was very White and very Republican. That has ALL changed and the county has become a Democratic stronghold. The trends do show rapid political shifts in some of the outer-most counties in the 26-county "conurbation", as it is called. Truly, it is only a matter of time before political winds and demographics can shift in the 14th district and extremists like MTG will surely be voted out. In the last election, the guy running against her was not, IMO, the strongest candidate the Democrats could put up. A more moderate Democrat--and I really HATE to say it, but one who's White--who also might be able to capture some of the moderate Independent and Republican votes, COULD conceivably be MTG's undoing. Fingers crossed this can happen sooner rather than later!
Bruce, I grew up in a suburb of Boston, and we've lived in Gwinnett County since 1975. Because of Gwinnett's rapid growth from other parts of the country, the population has become increasingly more diverse and liberal, making our county Democratic. I've observed the same phenomenon in Cobb. Like you, I believed that Marcus Flowers had no chance of beating MTG in the midterms, regardless of the donations (including mine) that he raised. Still, the outrageousness of Greene and the far right will eventually destine them to obscurity. I hope I live to see that day.
Bruce, although this is not on topic, I am wondering whether you have recently received a copy of "The Epoch Times," a newspaper described by the NYT as "[S]ince 2016, the Falun Gong-backed newspaper has used aggressive Facebook tactics and right-wing misinformation to create an anti-China, pro-Trump media empire." We received a copy recently, and my guess is that we're not the only recipients. It was specifically addressed to my attention. Creepy!
Absolutely! From what I've been told, Caroll County is blood red - in every respect! Gwinnett County, where we live, used to be extremely conservative. Years ago (1980's), one of my sons was with friends, roaming through the woods near Stone Mountain. That night, there was a huge news broadcast, relating that a white supremacist who was being sought for the murder of Jewish radio host, Alan Berg (in Denver, I think), and was thought to be in the area. My son was terribly upset, because the photo of the fugitive looked like a person he'd seen in the woods. I immediately called the FBI, and the agent I spoke with said something along the lines of "Well, that's no surprise, since Stone Mountain was a rallying point for the KKK years ago, and there are lots of sympathizers there now." While I knew the history of Stone Mountain, and there is a huge carving on the face of the mountain of the Confederate generals in uniform on horseback, it was terribly unsettling. Fortunately, they caught the fugitive within hours, and in the last several years there have been ongoing negotiations about removing the carving or allowing the elements to destroy it. So, while we still have plenty of bigots, the tide has turned, Gwinnett County has become very diverse, and is now very BLUE!
When we first moved here in '56, then, of course, the South was still solidly Democratic, as in "Dixie-crats", very right-wing segregationists and VERY conservative. My folks, though pretty conservative, had always voted Republican even then, so were a bit against the grain here. Gwinnett then was largely rural and overwhelmingly White. Up further north there were counties that had been 100% White for decades as they had run all the Blacks out through fearmongering and intimidation. Three of them (Forsyth (just to our west), White (no joke), and Habersham) stayed that way until just over 40 years ago. As a kid, I remember seeing with my own eyes the billboard in the county seat of Forsyth county that said, "N****r, don't let the sun set on you." I may have even asked why that was, but my folks probably would have said something like, "Just because..." Now, with Atlanta's northern sprawl, Forsyth county has exploded in growth and has even far surpassed us in population, of which a sizeable proportion is Black. The KKK tried to make a stand in the early '80s, but you can see what became of that. Yes, Atlanta's growth (urban area now at 6.92 million) IS having an effect on these pockets of the Old South. We can only hope that change will continue on apace as the old die off and the new persist.
My friend is a Democrat and a transplant from Indiana and a family what were Democrats. I think since she has lived in Carrollton she has only one friend that isn't a Republican. We talk at least once a week...to keep her sane. Her husband worked for CBS that became Sony and he died nearly twenty years ago but two of their children relocated to the same area.
We have a LOT of crazies here...my brother won't even hardly go out of the house as he says you can't even go for a walk without being confronted by craziness. I haven't found it that bad, but in a place that went like 80% for T***p in '20, we do have our fair share. Just going on the website "NextDoor" is evidence enough. EVERY topic or posting, no matter how mundane or innocuous, is somehow always directed back to politics and how Biden and the Democrats are destroying the country, and how we had it so much better under T***p. Right. They bitch and moan about the local leaders and I SO badly want to remind them they're ALL Republicans and THEY elected them, so don't come crying to me! I don't go near any of them and stay out of all of that stuff. My real name is on there and I don't want to receive death threats.
Either dress like a bandido or start wearing a cowboy hat. If you are built I would go bandido. If you are slim wear the hat. Social problems solved. Smooth sailing. Confidence man. Or get a Dawgs sweatshirt and rip off the sleeves.
Bruce: Atlanta burbs will change soonish. This year 3.3 Million high school seniors will graduate nationwide followed by 3.5 M in June 2024 and so on! By 2026 about 15 Million 18-22 yr olds will be eligible to vote joined by older 2-4 college and grad students! Many competitive states have passed AVR (automatic voter registration based on the application for a driver’s license). I am trying to persuade states to broaden that by automatically including 18 yr olds in high school or college, and anyone else who has official contact with a state agency that can verify age, address, email, and personal signature. Tech folks easily can do all of that verification just like driver’s licenses. The sum of all this is that educated youth will outvote the Trumpers in 2024 and wipe out the crazy side of the Republican Party which has at most only to 2026-28 and thereafter to dominate most elections in cities, suburbs, etc in AZ, NV, CO, GA, NC, VA, MI, WI, PA, ILL, significant parts even of TX, OH, IA, FL, etc, etc!
Better be damn quick before MTG and her Trumpsters ruin this state! As long as they keep their Republican attitudes and keep a Trumpublican Governor and legislation , we’ll never get anything done for us. It will only be fir the rich.
Kemp is decidedly not pro-Trump at all and has been pretty obvious about that. In the gubernatorial race he totally shied away from even mentioning T***p. He very deftly succeeded in not antagonizing the T***p base and by doing so they could still vote for him--and they did. He tepidly endorsed Walker in the Senate runoff, but he was more or less forced to. He was definitely NOT for Walker in the Republican primary, nor did he endorse him during the November election. He was very noticeably silent about Walker until the runoff, when, being the governor, he basically HAD to endorse a Republican. The state General Assembly does still have a fair number of T***pies, though.
He was smart enough to see the writing on the wall, and hoped that would protect him from TFG's foes, but he's every inch Republican, and we all know that there are no moderate Republicans drawing breath here or anywhere else. His "heartbeat" anti-abortion law, refusal to expand Medicaid, voter suppression rules (that mostly didn't work), and anti-woke mouthing keep him solidly in the camp of the right.
I'm hoping that the Georgia fake electors and election deniers still in D.C. will be called out and prosecuted, at least by Fani Willis.
Nancy, you took the words right out of my mouth. Kemp may not have mentioned Frump, but he’s damn sure running his game on us here in Georgia. And yes, he had t n e voting laws changed to the point where I, a totally disabled man that’s homebound had to go through hell to get my ballot mailed to me, plus I called several times after I mailed it to make sure it had been received. Getting it was a pain in my a$$, but I finally received it less C than 10 days before the election, and runoff.
Underneath that outer shell of the Kemp that is shown to everyone is the true Governor Kemp that is going tight by TFGs playbook.
K.paschal, thank you for this ray of hope. I live for the day that MTG and her ilk are banished - permanently - in the way that Gwinnett County has evolved.
Let's just imagine what the next (hopefully not) MAGA president might do. Probably take poorly thought out actions that would provoke a serious confrontation with China. They're not good at governing and, in fact, don't believe it. But they're good at saying outrageous things for attention and to confuse the American people.
When your belief is that the Rapture / End Times are imminent, and you and your friends will be the only ones “saved”, hastening the End is a policy objective.
Did you see (or hear) her complaining because shes only getting paid $174,000/salary? And has so much of her time spent in Congress - used to make much more in her "gym" business! That should be on a billboard - where it cannot be ignored.
Imagine Maggie how that would look on a highway billboard to those living under the radar in tents cardboard houses and camper cities raising families, saving their propane for just the coldest nights and that hour getting ready to go to school or work. Poor Baby.
Yuhh.., I agree Penfist, and would only offer this: MTG's turdworld comment was hardly even worthy of note let alone printspace. If it weren't for her conspicuity, i.e., big mouth, blonde-hair, and other lesser photogenic attributes serving to help feed the media's need for smut, it would seem her titular performance sure wouldn't warrant any. Unfortunately, her looney behavior, along with that of other "un-mentionables" helps swell the ranks of an evolving reality of a different kind. Un-governable.
I’m liking snarky Heather, maybe we can make it a Saturday tradition???
Thanks as always!
Snarky Heather is like Dark Brandon. Both badly needed for these times.
Casey,
Speaking of "Dark Brandon", (an ostensibly bad guy about to to bad things) here is an article from the Wall Street Journal capturing the now ancient, at 81, George Will and his current perspectives on government. Compare Will's wild ravings to Dr. Richardson's perspective on government.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-right-turned-left-parties-democracy-progressive-conservative-capitalism-marx-history-11675452169?mod=opinion_lead_pos5
Mr. Will says, “that a market-based capitalist society of spontaneous order—I’m using Hayekian language—is good for the soul. People used to say ‘An armed society is a polite society’—if everyone had a Colt on their hip or a dagger on their belt, they’d be polite to each other. Well I think a commercial society is a polite society.”
Hayekian language? What? If we ALL just treat each other as if we (each) are a deadly threat to (each other) everything will be great??? Now, that is actually the most cogent statement in a wandering article with more ravings from what sounds like a madman.
I read the article twice. The first time I thought the incoherent, outrageously nutty nature of the article might be my own reading depth. So, I read it again carefully.
George Will, never of sound mind, and never a very good writer, but, as a white man able to stay gainfully employed at the Washington Post most likely because he had a rich Dad with some stroke, is positively off the rails as an old man.
To quote Mary Engelbreit, "May we all have the confidence of a mediocre white man." Or, to paraphrase the Hippies, Arming for civility is like f***ing for virginity.
OMG! I am laughing so hard at this!!!!!
Me too!
I am quoting you!
Love ME and you for quoting her!
I was never impressed by George Will's thinking.
Hence the tradition of shaking with your right hand & when setting a table turning the edge of the knife facing the plate.. I prefer namaste
According to the preface of my current favorite cookbook, The Vegan Chinese Kitchen by Hannah Che, the earliest Chinese "restaurants" were Buddhist monastery kitchens who fed travelers. As Buddhists, they did not believe in killing, and preferred not to have knives at table. From that belief, came the practise of cutting food before cooking it, so that eaters need only chopsticks (replaceable by forks in some countries) and spoons.
One of the things I love about being on this forum is what you can learn about different cultures from the many backgrounds here. While I worked in a lot of different countries before retirement I never made it to India. Namaste, was a new word to me, even if I had seen the gesture. Thanks.
Dave Smucker - "Namaste, was a new word to me, even if I had seen the gesture."
It's often how you know yoga class is over: The teacher faces the class with their hands together in a bow and says, "Namaste." Maybe you bow and say it back.
But that's not the only place you'll encounter "namaste." In the years since yoga became commercially popular in the United States, the word has taken on a life of its own. Namaste has found its way onto T-shirts, welcome mats, mugs, socks, pencil cases, and tote bags.
The first part of namaste comes from "namaha," a Sanskrit verb that originally meant "to bend." Deshpande says, "Bending is a sign of submission to authority or showing some respect to some superior entity." Over time, "namaha" went from meaning "to bend" to meaning "salutations" or "greetings."
The "te" in namaste means "to you," Deshpande says. So all together, namaste literally means "greetings to you." In the Vedas, namaste mostly occurs as a salutation to a divinity.
But the use and meaning have evolved. Today, among Hindi speakers throughout the world, namaste is a simple greeting to say hello.
A lot of words we use today have religious roots, but just like "adios," "inshallah" or "goodbye" (an abbreviation of "God be with ye"), it doesn't have to be that deep.
When it comes to yoga, it's a different story. The commercial yoga industry in the United States often uses "namaste" in a way that is almost completely divorced from its use in Hindi. Some yoga websites claim that namaste is "𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴" or "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶."
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/01/17/406246770/how-namaste-flew-away-from-us#:~:text=So%20all%20together%2C%20namaste%20literally,simple%20greeting%20to%20say%20hello.
Having spent time in India and attending daily “services” at a Temple as well as one of my best friends (someone I considered my sister and to her I was her brother), had a PHD and was an American author. Her sole purpose in life was to make Hinduism better understood in the west (aka the USA). She was devoutly Hindu.
Some of your text is correct some not. Namaste to Hindus does speak to the spiritual soul of each of us, speaks to that “light” in each of us. While it gets used as a gesture essentially saying hello (much like Jai Sia Ram), it is not simply meant as a gesture of “greetings / hello” to Hindus. It is meant to acknowledge the oneness of all. As another friend stated regarding it’s meaning, “I honor that place in you, where when you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us”.
You wrote: “In the Vedas, namaste mostly occurs as a salutation to a divinity.” No, not to “a divinity/ a god”. It is a salutation to the divinity in each of us, to the divine nature of all.
Thanks,
When the Muslims of my acquaintance say "inshallah", they do mean "Gd willing". Just saying.
The light in me honors the light in you.
Exactly.
What 'conservative' thinking is ever not "off the rails". In an Earth focused on evolution and progression, they want to devolve and regress.
Sounds like somebody needs a lesson in the meaning of the phrase "civil society".
Paraphrasing Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward: 2000-1887 (published 1888), every encounter in capitalism is adversarial. (It's a good read!)
Like a voice from the past, your note made a memory pop into my mind of reading that book long, long ago. It made me think. Perhaps it is time to re-read again, and see where it takes me now, some 60+ years later. Thanks for the reminder.
I know a lot of old men that are currently off the rails and they are around George Will's age!
Sharon CORRECTION ‘’I know a lot of young men that are currently off the rails and theY are around George Will’s age.” Please be cordial to us ‘vintage males.’
Keith....you are one of my few male friends that are sane along with the majority of LFAA men. Hugs
I am quite fond of a number of vintage males. Though there are a few who get on my nerves (not really connected with the present and think that "the old way of doing things was better"). On the other hand, I see a certain number of mid-life men who are off the rails, and some women who seem to think that cozying up to them somehow validates them as women. That makes me feel ill. What gives me hope is knowing that those people trying to recreate our society in the image of their small minds have to work very very hard to be heard, and fall flat almost every time, because there are more of us than them. Eventually they will realize that. I sure hope it is during my lifetime, because I don't want to miss it.
Annie I am quite fond of a number of vintage females, especially ones named Annie (Broadway show!)
Annie, I am happy too that the very conservative complain it's hard to get their message out. My own brother,78, is one of them. Last night he sent me a PragerU video decrying this very thing. Secretly, I smiled and laughed and had a moment of hope that their difficulties would continue. But I wrote back (after not watching to the video) that people on both sides of the aisle seem to be having trouble making their message heard. It's no use entering into discussion on political issues with him any longer but I wish him well.
I like Governor Polis. I just wonder how he got elected in a state with voters who would elect Lauren Boebert.
I live in solidarity with you on Colorado's Western Slope! There's a few of us - in fact, the county I live in has gone more Independent/Democrat - so, there is hope! Not so much for Mesa and Montrose counties unfortunately.
Janet. That guy is like acid rain. Corrodes and kills.
OK, I am inspired. Let's snark away!
There was a time...long ago, so long ago. When most Americans realized that their government was doing all that it could to protect them. Even when their President was of a different party or simply a lunatic. Taking pot shots at the folks who volunteered to protect us is pathetic.
Our military and our intelligence community work 24/7 and often risk their lives for us. What do we do? We watch our big TVs getting numbed by MSM hysterically repeating someone's interpretation of someone's speculation about something they really know little about. We stare and rant at our phones, doom scrolling while we sip our lattes.
A surveillance balloon drifted over our country. Neutralizing its electronics and communication abilities would be within the abilities of many teenage hackers. So it was a terrific harmless side show. But it was the size of two or three buses. So the mature leadership of our country determined the safest place to take it down. And yet, there must be something there to criticize, right?
The "balloon gate" episode is just another way for the GQP traitors to distract Americans from their attempted coup and now their attempt at destroying the financial credibility of their own country.
I think this is a sign of their desperation. Now back to Jill and Joe's dogs, Hunter's laptop and that basement in the pizza parlor.
Have to share this on Face Book and condense it a bit to get on Twitter. GREAT response to the current bunch of "R"s in the House - all of whom need a sound spanking and then public rejection.
Thank you, Bill!
Snarky Saturday.. I like it.
Snarkurday!
Yes! Please.
I’m in!
Me too!
Aren't you dreaming up more work for Heather?
She already does more research almost daily and after hours than most do in a week.
Snark on!
:)
Saturday night snark, like swear words sparingly used in a thoughtful letter,is delightful. Bien fait.
OH! I thought you were addressing me! and I was going to correct you about the "e" at the end of Chere. I stand corrected, but share your enthusiasm for Snarky HCR. Hmmm... it's an issue. How to encourage more Snark without sacrificing the very quality of dignified restraint that we have come to know and love. Hmmm... Cher Douglas, here. (sans "e")
Why can’t she call it “ It’s Heather’s LIVE Snarky Saturday Night!”
Yeah, good one! Heather sets up the entire circus of absurdity and turns to us and says, "Live! Snarky Saturday Night!" Good one! Hopefully, when the craziness is finally crushed and HCR returns to being a college history professor she can host Snarky Saturday Night and take on the next foolishness, just not the foolishness of our current batch of fools. Keep it fresh, as long as HCR saves the world soon enough to get through this batch!
With this bunch if clowns we gave running the House of Representatives now, will this foolishness ever stop? I don’t think so. They have yet to put a decent Bill on the floor for a vote. They are still arguing and jockeying on who’s going to serve on what committee, they have no clue what to do with Santos (or whatever his name is), and MTG hadn’t completed barking her orders to McFarty keeping him totally confused, and lost.
I was gonna say that there's no reason to release the Snarken only on Saturdays.
MTG is representing all the MAGAs in their firm refusal to be a part of reality.
Unless she's in jail (and maybe even if she is) she will keep getting elected. I impatiently await the day she becomes ignorable.
You are well on your way to number one with the Marjorie song. Ignorable…Oh so unadorable. I want to take you in my arms up to the cliff side. Because you’re my Ignorable so unadorable. Oops! Oh oh.
If the moonlight had of been brighter….Maybe you wouldn’t have slipped … Over that cliff… Oh baby you said that you could fly…MyLittle Magapie…Just when I thought you were falling for me… you fell into the sea… our time together was so ignorable so unadorable altogether deplorable.
Pat, these posts have made my day. Since I live in Georgia, although thankfully not in MTG's district, I would love to see "Little Magpie" flapping her wings, to no avail, ignorable and unadorable creature that she is.
I sought refuge in Marietta rather than overnight in Atlanta. Georgia is the southern crossroads of trucking where all roads lead to Atlanta. There are very fine people there.
I moved here from New England over 50 years ago. Obviously, I like it. There has been a huge influx of people moving here over the years, and I'm hopeful that eventually the MTGs here will become irrelevant.
love that..is it a quote I should know?
No Janet, I am an old man making snowshoes so he can climb up on the continental divide, sleep in a snow drift, write foolish songs, and have a moment.
Pat, you remind me of my father who would often say in fun, "I 'm a poet and I know it 'cause my feet are " Longfellows"
Namaste
And he's got rhythm! Bing, rather than Ol' Blue Eyes.
🎼🎶😂
Can't we get "deplorable" in there, too?
You're just superfluous, too superfluous for words Like "ignorale", "unadorable" and that old standby "deplorable"
That's just too marvelous. ;-)
...Supercilious....you're a pompuss little tart, you're supercilious, just a haughty little fart... your supercilious...
Just for you
Snark award... :-]
Slipsies, ulp done .
I live in MTG's district, we are a rapidly growing exurb of metro Atlanta. Many businesses are locating out here and subdivisions and schools are popping up everywhere changing our area from pastoral to suburban. The professionals moving this way tend to be educated and liberal..things will change eventually.
I used to live in Rome and taught at one of the colleges there, which is in MTG's district. It was the first place I came to after living in Europe for nearly 20 years. To come from one of the most liberal societies, The Netherlands, to one that was SO conservative was quite the culture shock. Though the people I was around were all of a like mind politically and socially, nevertheless one could not escape that we were surrounded on all sides by people with a decidedly different view of the world. You learn quickly how to manage and get along with people of all stripes. For me it was an enormous adjustment as I returned to the US feeling very much like a foreigner.
The energy of Atlanta's northward spread had for years been its strongest going in a north and northeast direction for about 50 miles, following what is called the "I-85 corridor". For years in the '90s, the northern part of Gwinnett county and the southern part of my home county (Hall) were cited as THE fastest growing areas in the entire country. (When we moved here in 1956, the county had like 35,000 people. It's now over 220,000.) The northwestern expansion has been more recent, especially apparent in the past 20 years or so, and had largely left Rome untouched, but that has now changed. A county to the south of Rome's Floyd county, Cobb, for years in the '70s and '80s had been pretty solidly red--it was the area that produced Newt Gingrich. It was very White and very Republican. That has ALL changed and the county has become a Democratic stronghold. The trends do show rapid political shifts in some of the outer-most counties in the 26-county "conurbation", as it is called. Truly, it is only a matter of time before political winds and demographics can shift in the 14th district and extremists like MTG will surely be voted out. In the last election, the guy running against her was not, IMO, the strongest candidate the Democrats could put up. A more moderate Democrat--and I really HATE to say it, but one who's White--who also might be able to capture some of the moderate Independent and Republican votes, COULD conceivably be MTG's undoing. Fingers crossed this can happen sooner rather than later!
Bruce, I grew up in a suburb of Boston, and we've lived in Gwinnett County since 1975. Because of Gwinnett's rapid growth from other parts of the country, the population has become increasingly more diverse and liberal, making our county Democratic. I've observed the same phenomenon in Cobb. Like you, I believed that Marcus Flowers had no chance of beating MTG in the midterms, regardless of the donations (including mine) that he raised. Still, the outrageousness of Greene and the far right will eventually destine them to obscurity. I hope I live to see that day.
"From your lips to God's ears!..."
Bruce, although this is not on topic, I am wondering whether you have recently received a copy of "The Epoch Times," a newspaper described by the NYT as "[S]ince 2016, the Falun Gong-backed newspaper has used aggressive Facebook tactics and right-wing misinformation to create an anti-China, pro-Trump media empire." We received a copy recently, and my guess is that we're not the only recipients. It was specifically addressed to my attention. Creepy!
😀
According to my friend Susan that lives in Carrollton...there are alot of crazy Republicans in that county of Carroll.
Absolutely! From what I've been told, Caroll County is blood red - in every respect! Gwinnett County, where we live, used to be extremely conservative. Years ago (1980's), one of my sons was with friends, roaming through the woods near Stone Mountain. That night, there was a huge news broadcast, relating that a white supremacist who was being sought for the murder of Jewish radio host, Alan Berg (in Denver, I think), and was thought to be in the area. My son was terribly upset, because the photo of the fugitive looked like a person he'd seen in the woods. I immediately called the FBI, and the agent I spoke with said something along the lines of "Well, that's no surprise, since Stone Mountain was a rallying point for the KKK years ago, and there are lots of sympathizers there now." While I knew the history of Stone Mountain, and there is a huge carving on the face of the mountain of the Confederate generals in uniform on horseback, it was terribly unsettling. Fortunately, they caught the fugitive within hours, and in the last several years there have been ongoing negotiations about removing the carving or allowing the elements to destroy it. So, while we still have plenty of bigots, the tide has turned, Gwinnett County has become very diverse, and is now very BLUE!
When we first moved here in '56, then, of course, the South was still solidly Democratic, as in "Dixie-crats", very right-wing segregationists and VERY conservative. My folks, though pretty conservative, had always voted Republican even then, so were a bit against the grain here. Gwinnett then was largely rural and overwhelmingly White. Up further north there were counties that had been 100% White for decades as they had run all the Blacks out through fearmongering and intimidation. Three of them (Forsyth (just to our west), White (no joke), and Habersham) stayed that way until just over 40 years ago. As a kid, I remember seeing with my own eyes the billboard in the county seat of Forsyth county that said, "N****r, don't let the sun set on you." I may have even asked why that was, but my folks probably would have said something like, "Just because..." Now, with Atlanta's northern sprawl, Forsyth county has exploded in growth and has even far surpassed us in population, of which a sizeable proportion is Black. The KKK tried to make a stand in the early '80s, but you can see what became of that. Yes, Atlanta's growth (urban area now at 6.92 million) IS having an effect on these pockets of the Old South. We can only hope that change will continue on apace as the old die off and the new persist.
My friend is a Democrat and a transplant from Indiana and a family what were Democrats. I think since she has lived in Carrollton she has only one friend that isn't a Republican. We talk at least once a week...to keep her sane. Her husband worked for CBS that became Sony and he died nearly twenty years ago but two of their children relocated to the same area.
We have a LOT of crazies here...my brother won't even hardly go out of the house as he says you can't even go for a walk without being confronted by craziness. I haven't found it that bad, but in a place that went like 80% for T***p in '20, we do have our fair share. Just going on the website "NextDoor" is evidence enough. EVERY topic or posting, no matter how mundane or innocuous, is somehow always directed back to politics and how Biden and the Democrats are destroying the country, and how we had it so much better under T***p. Right. They bitch and moan about the local leaders and I SO badly want to remind them they're ALL Republicans and THEY elected them, so don't come crying to me! I don't go near any of them and stay out of all of that stuff. My real name is on there and I don't want to receive death threats.
Either dress like a bandido or start wearing a cowboy hat. If you are built I would go bandido. If you are slim wear the hat. Social problems solved. Smooth sailing. Confidence man. Or get a Dawgs sweatshirt and rip off the sleeves.
Bruce: Atlanta burbs will change soonish. This year 3.3 Million high school seniors will graduate nationwide followed by 3.5 M in June 2024 and so on! By 2026 about 15 Million 18-22 yr olds will be eligible to vote joined by older 2-4 college and grad students! Many competitive states have passed AVR (automatic voter registration based on the application for a driver’s license). I am trying to persuade states to broaden that by automatically including 18 yr olds in high school or college, and anyone else who has official contact with a state agency that can verify age, address, email, and personal signature. Tech folks easily can do all of that verification just like driver’s licenses. The sum of all this is that educated youth will outvote the Trumpers in 2024 and wipe out the crazy side of the Republican Party which has at most only to 2026-28 and thereafter to dominate most elections in cities, suburbs, etc in AZ, NV, CO, GA, NC, VA, MI, WI, PA, ILL, significant parts even of TX, OH, IA, FL, etc, etc!
Better be damn quick before MTG and her Trumpsters ruin this state! As long as they keep their Republican attitudes and keep a Trumpublican Governor and legislation , we’ll never get anything done for us. It will only be fir the rich.
Kemp is decidedly not pro-Trump at all and has been pretty obvious about that. In the gubernatorial race he totally shied away from even mentioning T***p. He very deftly succeeded in not antagonizing the T***p base and by doing so they could still vote for him--and they did. He tepidly endorsed Walker in the Senate runoff, but he was more or less forced to. He was definitely NOT for Walker in the Republican primary, nor did he endorse him during the November election. He was very noticeably silent about Walker until the runoff, when, being the governor, he basically HAD to endorse a Republican. The state General Assembly does still have a fair number of T***pies, though.
He was smart enough to see the writing on the wall, and hoped that would protect him from TFG's foes, but he's every inch Republican, and we all know that there are no moderate Republicans drawing breath here or anywhere else. His "heartbeat" anti-abortion law, refusal to expand Medicaid, voter suppression rules (that mostly didn't work), and anti-woke mouthing keep him solidly in the camp of the right.
I'm hoping that the Georgia fake electors and election deniers still in D.C. will be called out and prosecuted, at least by Fani Willis.
Nancy, you took the words right out of my mouth. Kemp may not have mentioned Frump, but he’s damn sure running his game on us here in Georgia. And yes, he had t n e voting laws changed to the point where I, a totally disabled man that’s homebound had to go through hell to get my ballot mailed to me, plus I called several times after I mailed it to make sure it had been received. Getting it was a pain in my a$$, but I finally received it less C than 10 days before the election, and runoff.
Underneath that outer shell of the Kemp that is shown to everyone is the true Governor Kemp that is going tight by TFGs playbook.
It’s that simple.
K.paschal, thank you for this ray of hope. I live for the day that MTG and her ilk are banished - permanently - in the way that Gwinnett County has evolved.
Ms. Estill, I boycott MTG's district. I can't cast a ballot there, so I vote with my wallet.
Let's just imagine what the next (hopefully not) MAGA president might do. Probably take poorly thought out actions that would provoke a serious confrontation with China. They're not good at governing and, in fact, don't believe it. But they're good at saying outrageous things for attention and to confuse the American people.
Easy to claim that you (or TFG) would know precisely what to do when somebody else has the responsibility of doing it. What could possibly go wrong?
Yes, remember that Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if trump had been president.
When your belief is that the Rapture / End Times are imminent, and you and your friends will be the only ones “saved”, hastening the End is a policy objective.
And lord knows, she's good at it. 🙄
And her clear reiteration of an imaginary past, using favoured formulae such as "This would never have happened if".
Or refuse to admit what they're really up to.
Touche (btw, I don't write a D4N Substack column, a funny thought though).
Did you see (or hear) her complaining because shes only getting paid $174,000/salary? And has so much of her time spent in Congress - used to make much more in her "gym" business! That should be on a billboard - where it cannot be ignored.
How good it would be for the country if she were to return to her “gym” business.
Yeah how true. Complaining about "only" $174 thousand salary really got me.
Imagine Maggie how that would look on a highway billboard to those living under the radar in tents cardboard houses and camper cities raising families, saving their propane for just the coldest nights and that hour getting ready to go to school or work. Poor Baby.
Exactly how I was picturing it!
Yuhh.., I agree Penfist, and would only offer this: MTG's turdworld comment was hardly even worthy of note let alone printspace. If it weren't for her conspicuity, i.e., big mouth, blonde-hair, and other lesser photogenic attributes serving to help feed the media's need for smut, it would seem her titular performance sure wouldn't warrant any. Unfortunately, her looney behavior, along with that of other "un-mentionables" helps swell the ranks of an evolving reality of a different kind. Un-governable.
The GOP members of the House must be so proud to have her as their representative.